LASG paints houses around Teslim Balogun Stadium, other venues

Residents of the Lagos State Property Development Corporation (LSPDC) estate adjacent to the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere, Lagos have had their houses painted by the state government, ahead of the 18th National Sports Festival.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Games, tagged “Eko 2012,’’ will hold from Nov. 27 to Dec. 9.

A check by NAN showed that houses on streets opposite the LSDPC estate, such as Ogunmola, were also similarly painted. The government is also painting and fumigating houses around the stadium and the other venues for the festival.

The venues are: the University of Lagos, Akoka; the Yaba College of Technology and the Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka. However, some of the residents have called on the government to ensure effective monitoring, to prevent the contractors from doing shoddy jobs.

Mrs. Iyabo Balogun, a petty trader, who resides at Block 4 of the LSPDC housing estate, said: “Our houses are now very beautiful and our environment is fumigated; thanks to Eko 2012”.

She said that she would like the Lagos State Government to continue to host Eko 2012 every year, so that the state government would continue to keep their neighbourhoods clean.

Mrs. Kemi Ajose, a housewife residing in Block 3 of the LSPDC estate, said though painting of her building had yet to be completed, she was grateful to government for it. Ajose, however, expressed disgust with the painters whom she said, had skipped her building for the next block for some two days now.

Another resident of Block 3, Mr. Alex Obi, said the contractor should be monitored by the government to ensure that he delivers a good job. He said the uneven nature of some of the paintings might derail the government’s plan of having a uniform outlook for the buildings during the Games.

Omolara Williams, a resident of Ogunmola Street, told NAN that the house painting started on Friday.

She said that she was happy with the development, which was in the spirit of Eko 2012.

NAN reports that the painting of houses around the Games venues was part of government’s efforts to create awareness for the fiesta and to ensure that the neighbourhoods remained clean.